Meaning of Crispinian: Crispin (and Crispinian) are French Christian patron saints of shoemakers (cobblers), tanners and leather workers Origin and meaning of Crispinian 05 The meaning of Crispinian is "Curly-haired one". Its origin is "Latin". This name is mostly being used as a boys name. Crispin (and Crispinian) are French Christian patron saints of shoemakers (cobblers), tanners and leather workers. Born in the 3rd century AD to a noble Roman family, the twin brothers ultimately ended up in Soissons after fleeing for fear of persecution due to their faith. While inhabiting Soissons, the brothers shared the preaching of Christianity by day and became creators of shoes by night. With their continued success, they attracted the attention of Rictus Varus - the governor of Belgic Gaul. Rictus Varus eventually had them tortured and threw them into the river with millstones completely around their necks and shockingly - they survived. However, they were later beheaded by the emperor.

Footwear of the Middle Ages - Shoemaking and Saints Shoemaking and Saints Like most crafts, Shoemaking and repair had their patron saints. Shoemaking and Christianity have had a long relationship, or so it would appear from the Vitae and legends of the various Saints and legendary figures. Numerous saints, alleged saints and religious folk are either linked in legends as either being shoemakers or having had something to do with shoemaking. These include: Theobald of Provence Alexander Alexander was appointed to the See of Comana and was Martyred 270 CE. He was a shoemaker. (Source: Wright, Thomas. The Romance of the Shoe. London: C.J.Farncome & Sons, 1922) Anianus of Alexandria The apocryphal acta of Saint Mark relates that Anianus (or Annianus) was a shoemaker who, while making a new thong for the Apostle Mark's shoe was stabbed himself with an Awl. The Apostle healed him, and Anianus converted to Christianity. He later became Bishop of Alexandria, dying in 80 - 84 CE. (Sources: Roman Martyrology; Wright, Thomas.

The Romance of the Shoe. London: C.J.Farncome & Sons, 1922; Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. The book of saints: A dictionary of persons canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1966; Husenbeth, Rev. F. C. .Emblems of saints in works of art. Longmans, Green & Co., 1860). Aquila and Prisca This 1st century Jewish tentmaker, and his wife (also called Priscilla) are often shown in art with tentmaker's tools or making tents, or they might also be shown with shoemaker's tools and each of them holding a sword, or with Saint Paul (Sources: Roman Martyrology; Roeder, Helen. Saints and their attributes: With a guide to localities and patronage. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1955).

Crispian and Crispinian These are the best known of Shoemaking's patrons in Heaven, although it often seems to me that Saints Crispian and Crispinian are best known today for being a part of Shakespeare's "band of brothers" speech in Henry V. However, Crispian and Crispinian are part of a much older tradition than the Bard's. There are a number of differnent legends about these saints. The documents on them are dubious at best, not only unable to agree on whether Crispinian was a separate saint, a description of Crispian, or where Crispian came from. Essentially, however, Crispian and Crispinian, were of Roman origin (legend has it that Crispian, at least, was of a Noble family), they were cast out of their family when they converted to Christianity. They followed St Quentin (or St. Quintinus) on his mission to the Gaulish pagans, and are reputed to have founded Noviodunum (now Soissons, France). Rather than be supported by the faithful, they chose to practice the profession of shoemaking, making shoes for the poor at night, after preaching all day.

The leather for their shoes was brought to them nightly by angels. Eventually the local pagans complained to the Emperor, Maximian (or this occured during the persecutions of Diocletian), and they were arrested (c.290), and handed over to Rictiovarus (or Rictio Varus), who may have been the governor, or some other position, or perhaps never existed at all. Rictiovarus had them stabbed with awls, had them thrown into the Aisne with millstones around their necks, and performed other tortures that vary in description by source. Eventually, having failed to kill them, Rictiovarus killed himself, and they were decapitated on the orders of the Emperor. They may have been buried in Soissons, they may have been carried back to Rome and buried with honor in the church of St. Laurence in Panisperna. Another legend has them remaining in Rome, where they died around 285-88, and their relics were translated to Soissons in the 6th century.

French hagiographers created the story that they were martyred in Soissons, and eventually it was even popularly believed that they were from the Soissons area. Engish traditions have them fleeing to Faversham during persecutions and plying their trade at the location of the Swan Inn in Preston Street, or having their headless bodies being tossed into the sea and floating to the Romney Marsh. Finally, the story told about them in Deloney's The Gentle Craft, and later sources, is even more exotic being a tale of epic adventure of the two sons of the King of Logria. The boys disquise themselves to escape the Tyranny of the Emperor Maximinus, learned shoemaking from a aged Cordwainer in Faversham. Crispin marries the Emperor's daughter, Ursula, while Crispianus goes off to defeat the Persians in a war against the French. The story finally ends with Maximinus becoming a a good person, at the site of his grandchild, and everyone lived happily ever after. Their shrine in Soissons was later rebuilt by St. Eloi (d.660) (or St. Eligius).

Faversham was a pilgrimage site as late as the 17th century. There is an alter to their honor in the Faversham parish church. There is a painting of them in Tï¿½n Cathedral in Prague. They are the patron saints of Cobblers, Shoemakers and Leatherworkers, or in the words of Randle Holme, they are "The Patron of Souters, Cordwiners; and Shoe-makers Journey-Men." Their feast day is 25 October, the "Shoemaker's Holiday", when in less rigid times, cobbler's, bootmakers and shoemakers traditionally closed their shops in celebration and commemoration of them (Sources: Holme, Randle. Academy of Armory & Blazon, 1688; Kelly, Sean and Rosemary Rogers. Saints Preserve Us. NY: Random House, 1993; Metford, JCJ. Dictionary of Christian Lore and Legend. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1983; Petr Hlavï¿½cek, "Patron Saints of Shoemakers" (3 May 1999) http:// "" ).

Euseus of Serravalle This 4th (or14th) century hermit in the Piedmont plied the cobbler's trade. His feast is on the 15th of February, and he is the Patron of Shoemakers. Saint Euseus is portrayed as a hermit with shoemaker's tools. (Sources: Kelly, Sean and Rosemary Rogers. Saints Preserve Us. NY: Random House, 1993; Roeder, Helen. Saints and their attributes: With a guide to localities and patronage. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1955; Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. . The book of saints: A dictionary of persons canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1966; Petr Hlavï¿½cek, "Patron Saints of Shoemakers" (3 May 1999) http:// " ).

Homonobus of Cremona An Italian merchant, he was born around 1150, died 13 November 1197, and was canonized in 1199, and his feast is on the 13th of November. He is the patron of several craft guilds, including tailors, drapers and clothworkers, and shoemakers (Source: Kelly, Sean and Rosemary Rogers. Saints Preserve Us. NY: Random House, 1993; Petr Hlavï¿½cek, "Patron Saints of Shoemakers" (3 May 1999) http:// "" ). Hugh Hugh may never have been actually venerated as a Saint, as say, Crispian and Crispianus were, as there is no mention of him before his appearance in Thomas Deloney's The Gentle Craft (1598) and Thomas Dekker's The Shoemakers Holiday (1599), although from those sources it seems likely that his story did not originate with these authors specifically. He is also mentioned in 'The Cobbler's Jig'.

According to Deloney's The Gentle Craft, and later sources, Hugh was born son of Arviragus "king of Powisland" (probably Pwys in modern day Wales, unless it refers to the whole of the Welsh as the remaining Britains), St. Hugh romantically persued a Christian princess, Winifred of Flintshire (modern Clwyd). She eventually converted him to Christianity, and he persued his craft of shoemaking, while preaching to faithful. He and Winifred were "among the first" to be imprisoned for his faith under Diocletian, and eventually executed, ostensibly for rabble-rousing, about 300 A.D. But even during this time, his fellow shoemakers stood by him, maintaining a constant vigil over him, supplying his needs during his imprisonment. Winifred was beheaded, and He was forced to drink her blood before being hung from a gibbet. Winifred was buried by the well that bears her name, and his friends pulled his body from the gibbet and dried his bones. to make them into tools for making shoes. A shoemaker's tool kit was thereafter called St. Hugh's Bones .

At least according to people who followed Deloney and Dekker and believed them. According to one version of the legends, St. Hugh was a prince of Britain, son of Arvarigus, King of Powisland, in about 300 AD. He fell in love with Winifred, daughter of the king of Flintshire. She became a Christian, and Hugh adopted her faith, and he began to preach the Gospel. Hugh learned to be a shoemaker to support himself after losing his wealth in a shipwreck. He preached the gospel by day and made shoes at night. He was eventually arrested and put to death for his beliefs. When Hugh was in prison, awaiting death, his fellow journeyman shoemakers remained with him, giving him everything he needed, for which he named them the "gentleman of the gentle craft". After his death, his brother shoemakers took his bones from the gibbet and made them into tools, hence the name "St. Hugh's Bones". [Note: Arviragus is mentioned in Hollinshead and British legendary history as a King of Britain, a son of Cymbeline (the historical Cunobelinus).

Arviragus, also known as Arviragus Gwenivyth, King of Siluria, aka Arfyrag, is supposedly the king from whom Joseph of Arimathea received his land grant of 12 hides from when they brought Christianity to Britain in 37 or 63 CE. His brother was, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, killed during Claudius' invasion of Britain in 43 CE. He is referred to in Juvenal. Arviragus put away his British wife and son and daughter, and married Venissa, or Genissa (or Venus) the daughter of a Roman official (some say Claudius himself) in the hopes of protecting himself from Rome.] [Note: Winifred is a Welsh Saint, a 7th century virgin, who was from Flintshire and had a very active, and very inventive cult in the Middle Ages. Her cult, centered on Holywell and Shrewsbury, do not appear to mention a husband or lover named Hugh. Her Feast day is 3 November, although in some Welsh Churches it is either 19/20 September or 4 November.

Her Translation is 4 November.] John of Egypt (Lycopolis) John was born at Asyut [Assiut, Lycopolis], in Egypt, about 304; died near there in 394. John was a shoemaker (or a carpenter) at Asyut. At the age of 25 he became a hermit, moving in with an old hermit on a nearby mountain, where he remained for the next 12 years. During his time there, his humility and obedience were tested by a number of bizarre act ordered by the older hermit. After the old man's death, he spent 4 years moving about between various monastaries. At the age of 40, he walled himself up in a cell on the top of a rock near Lycopolis. Speaking only on Saturdays and Sundays, and not eating until after sundown, and then only a slight amount he developed a reputatation for miracles, prophecy and reading men's souls. He was very popular, consulted by Emperors (Sources: Roman Martyrology; Attwater, D. The penguin dictionary of saints, 2nd edition, revised and updated by Catherine Rachel John.

New York: Penguin Books, 1983; Attwater, D. Saints of the East, 1963; Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. . The book of saints: A dictionary of persons canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1966; Gill, F. C. The glorious company: Lives of great Christians for daily devotion, vol. I. London: Epworth Press, 1958; Husenbeth, Rev. F. C. .Emblems of saints in works of art. Longmans, Green & Co., 1860) Joseph of Kopertine St. Joseph was born 17 Jul 1603 in Kopertine, Italy. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker. He eventually became a Franciscan. He died on 18 September 1663 in Osima. He is also he patron of astronauts, and military pilots (Source: Petr Hlavï¿½cek, "Patron Saints of Shoemakers" (3 May 1999) http:// "" ). Maurus St.

Maur[us] A Benedictine, d.584, He is the patron saint of charcoalburners, coppersmiths, etc. -- in Belgium he is the Patron of shoemakers. He is invoked against gout, hoarseness, colds, and so on. He was a disciple of St. Benedict, and his chief support at Subiaco. His feast day has traditionally been January, but has recently been moved to 25 October. (Sources: Kelly, Sean and Rosemary Rogers. Saints Preserve Us. NY: Random House, 1993; Roeder, Helen. Saints and their attributes: With a guide to localities and patronage. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1955; Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. . The book of saints: A dictionary of persons canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1966; Husenbeth, Rev. F. C. .Emblems of saints in works of art. Longmans, Green & Co., 1860) ).

Other Saints Maurus (who probably have nothing to do with shoemaking): St. Maur[us] (of Felix and Maurus) Born in Palestine, 6th century. Felix and his son Maurus made a pilgrimage to Rome. Thereafter they settled at a place now named after the father, San Felice, near Narni, Italy.(Source: Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. . The book of saints: A dictionary of persons canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1966) St. Maur[us] (of Papias and Maurus) died. c. 300,303, or 313AD ; Died c. 303. These two are always pictured as the Roman soldiers they were. They were martyred under Maximian in Rome, where they are venerated (Sources: Roman Martyrology; Roeder, Helen. Saints and their attributes: With a guide to localities and patronage. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1955;Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate.

. The book of saints: A dictionary of persons canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1966) St. Maur[us] of Bodon A Benedictine, he died c. 555. (Sources: Roman Martyrology; Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. . The book of saints: A dictionary of persons canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1966) Blessed Rabanus Maur[us] Archbishop of Mainz, died at Winkel, Germany, 856. (Sources: Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. . The book of saints: A dictionary of persons canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1966) St. Maur[us] A bishop in Pecz, Hungary, 1000AD? (Sources: Correspondence with D.A. Saguto) St. Maur[us] Bones/relics in old Croatian church? (Sources: Correspondence with D.A.

Saguto) Nevolo Also known as Novelonius. He was originally a cobbler from Amila province in France. He was led by St, James to become a Franciscan. He died in 1280 in Faenzi, and there is regarded as the patron of cobblers (Source: Petr Hlavï¿½cek, "Patron Saints of Shoemakers" (3 May 1999) http:// "" ). Sir John Shorne (c.1290-1314) (Also called Master John, or Reverend John, his surname given as either Shorne or Schorne) According to legend, Shorne was a devout man, and the rector of North Marston, Buckinghamshire, at the close of the thirteenth century. He blessed a well, which in time became the destination of pilgrims, bringing in a revenue of some 500 ï¿½ per annum. By 1481, his shrine and relics had been removed to Windsor. His greatest feat, however, was conjuring the Devil into a boot, which explains his affinity with shoemakers.

His local cult was reputed to have been even bigger than Beckett's, though this is doubtful. He was effectively an uncanonised saint, and was prayed to in cases of ague. To maister John Shorne, that blessed man borne. For the ague to him we apply. Which juggleth with a bote; I beschrewe his herte rote That will trust him, and it be I. ---Fantassie of Idolatrie (Sources: Brewer, E. Cobham, The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,1894, 1989; Wright, Thomas. The Romance of the Shoe. London: C.J.Farncome & Sons, 1922.; Correspondence with D.A. Saguto) Theobald of Alba Also known as Blessed Theobald Roggeri of Vico (or of Alba). Patron of Porters, Shoemakers, and/or Cobblers and is invoked against fever and sterility. His feast day is the 2d of June. In art, Theobald is a pilgrim with shoemaker's tools. He is venerated in Liguria and the Piedmont.

Theobald was born into a noble Piedmontese family (or perhaps a noble family at Vico, in Liguria), but was so moved by reading of the Gospel that he gave all that up, adopted a more simple life, and subsequently apprenticed himself to a cobbler in Alba. He became so skilled at the trade that it was his master's dying wish that Our Saint marry his daughter. Theobald, bound as he was by a vow of chastity, departed on a pilgrimage to Compostella, in Spain. Upon his return to Alba, he sought even more menial employment, earned his living as a carrier, carrying sacks of grain and giving away his meager salary to the poor and suffering until his death on 1 June 1150. (Sources: Roeder, Helen. Saints and their attributes: With a guide to localities and patronage. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1955; Kelly, Sean and Rosemary Rogers. Saints Preserve Us.

NY: Random House, 1993; Petr Hlavï¿½cek, "Patron Saints of Shoemakers" (3 May 1999) http:// "" ) Theobald of Provence Also called Dietbald, he was originally from a wealthy family in Luxemburg, and died in 1066 in Salaniga in Italy. He was Canonized in 1073. There may be some confusion with Theobald of Alba. He is considered the patron of shoemakers, tanners, and beltmakers (Source: Petr Hlavï¿½cek, "Patron Saints of Shoemakers" (3 May 1999) http:// "" ). Patron Saints: Guardians for your little angel – Baby Name Blog - Nameberry Nameberry Search for a name or phrase using quick search Find the right name for your baby using our advanced search tool Gender Change your email address and your password Login Patron Saints: Guardians for your little angel Posted February 2nd, 2012 Share on Pinterest How would you like a little extra special protection added to the other assets of your baby’s name?

Patron saints are guardians over particular aspects of life—they can defend against an illness, or look out for people practicing a certain occupation or other interest. Sometimes these assignments were set centuries ago, others have been made more recently, as in the cases of ecology, advertising, computer technicians and television. Here are some of the most usable and interesting patron saint names, with their special areas of protection. Girls Adelaide —can be invoked against in-law problems; protects parents of large families, stepparents, widows, abuse victims Agatha — Saint Agatha of Sicily is the patron of nursing mothers, glass workers and cloth makers, and a protector against breast disease, fire, earthquakes, burns, and volcanic eruptions.

Agnes —is a protector of young girls, Girl Scouts Apollonia —protects against toothaches, and is the patron saint of dentists Bernadine —patron saint of advertising Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians, composers, poets and church music because as she was dying she sang to God, and as the musicians played at her wedding she “sang in her heart to the Lord ” Clare – Clare of Assisi was named patron of television because one Christmas when she was too ill to leave her bed she saw and heard a Christmas Mass that was taking place miles away. Clotilde —protector of adopted children Colette — St.

Colette is the patron saint of those who have lost parents Columba —a patron saint of poets Dorothy —patron of florists, gardeners, midwives, brides, newlyweds and brewers Genevieve –a protectress against fever, disasters, and excessive rain Helena —patron saint of archaeologists Lidwina—protectress of ice skaters Lucy –since her name means light, her patronage extends over all areas of vision, both spiritual and physical; also electricians, farmers, and the blind Matilda —patron saint of large families, second marriages, widows and disappointing children Vivian / Bibiana —protects against hangovers and headaches Winifred —patron saint of payrolls/payroll clerks Boys Ambrose –patron saint of learning, students and school children, orators, stone cutters, domestic animals, beekeepers, and the city of Milan . St. Ambrose was famous for his rhetoric and learning. Augustine — St. Augustine , the highly influential philosopher and theologian, is the patron saint of printers, theologians and brewers. Barnabus — St.

Barnabus can be invoked for peace Benedict —a patron saint of architects , bachelors, and the mentally ill Blaise —patron saint of builders and wind musicians; also can be invoked against throat diseases and whooping cough Claude —protector of sculptors Cornelius —protects against earaches Cosmos and Damian —twins patrons of hospitals, dentists, eye doctors, druggists, midwives and candy makers (candy makers and dentists??) Crispin and Crispinian — twin patron saints of cobblers, tanners, and leather workers (and maybe shoe fanatics?). Born to a noble Roman family, they fled persecution for their faith, preaching Christianity to the Gauls and making shoes by night. Florian – Saint Florian is the protector of fire fighters, and protects against floods, and any other danger from water Francis — Francis de Sales, who invented a sign language for the deaf, is the patron saint of editors, journalists and writers; Francis of Assisi , a patron of animals, merchants, and ecology.

(That’s him, fulfilling the animal side of his duties, in the picture.) Isidore —patron of computer users, technicians Ivo / Yves — the patron of lawyers, judges, jurors, notaries—and abandoned children Jude — Saint Jude is the patron saint of desperate situations and of hospitals. Luke —patron saint of artists, doctors, jewelers Magnus —protector of crops Raphael — the archangel Raphael has a heavy load: his patronage includes lovers, travelers, young people, nurses, apothecaries, eye problems, nurses and mental illness Valentine – Saint Valentine is not only the guardian of engaged couples, lovers, happy marriages , young people, and bee keepers, he protects against epilepsy, fainting and plague. Zeno – Zeno is the patron saint of fishermen, newborn babies and children learning to speak and walk. October 25, 2007 in Shoes with 3 Comments Manolo says, the Manolo’s internet friend Charlotte has reminded the Manolo that today is St. Crispin’s Day , the feast day for the twin saints Crispin and Crispian, two of the most important of the patron saints of the cobbler.

What many of the Manolo’s friends may not know is that few occupations have as many patron saints as that of the shoemakers. Indeed, the distinction of patron may be applied to several dozen holy figures of the past ( the partial list of which may be seen at this website ), including such luminaries as Catherine of Alexandria, Mary Magdalene, Homobonus, and Gangolfo. Also not well known, is that most of these tutelary saints began life as aristocrats who later humbled themselves in the service of God, producing through the honest labor of their hands beautiful shoes for the those who had none. This is why shoemaking has historically been called the “Noble or Gentle Craft “, because its patrons saints were usually nobility. But none of this is news to those few who have read the Manolo’s Consolation of the Shoes , which describes in detail the period in the young Manolo’s life when he was ardently devoted to the cults of many of these noble saints. And now, in secular celebration of this holy day, the Manolo gives you that most appropriate of poems, The Shoemakers, by John Greenleaf Whittier . Ho!

workers of the old time styled The Gentle Craft of Leather Young brothers of the ancient guild, Stand forth once more together! Call out again your long array, In the olden merry manner Once more, on gay St. Crispin’s day, Fling out your blazoned banner! Rap, rap! upon the well-worn stone How falls the polished hammer Rap, rap! the measured sound has grown A quick and merry clamor. Now shape the sole! now deftly curl The glossy vamp around it, And bless the while the bright-eyed girl Whose gentle fingers bound it! For you, along the Spanish main A hundred keels are ploughing; For you, the Indian on the plain His lasso-coil is throwing; As they who shunned the household maid Beheld the crown upon her, So all shall see your toil repaid With hearth and home and honor. Then let the toast be freely quaffed, In water cool and brimming,– “All honor to the good old Craft, Its merry men and women!” Call out again your long array, In the old time’s pleasant manner Once more, on gay St. Crispin’s day, Fling out his blazoned banner!

Happy Saint Crispin’s Day! 3 Responses to “Patron Saints and the Gentle Craft” Greg October 25, 2007 at 2:07 pm # The secular celebration of this day which comes immediately to mind for me, I must say, has little to do with shoemakers. Instead it comes from the pen of the incomparable William Shakespeare, the Saint Crispin’s Day speech from Henry V: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now-a-bed Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.” Rachel of Cyberia October 25, 2007 at 3:33 pm # …gotta dig out my VHS copy of Branaugh’s Henry V now, thanks Greg. Search Manolo’s Shoe Blog Search for: Saints and Seamers: Does the Fashion Industry need a Patron Saint?

| Jonathan Walford's Blog Saints and Seamers: Does the Fashion Industry need a Patron Saint? Posted on December 4, 2010 by Jonathan (Originally blogged November 15, 2009) Even those of us who aren’t catholic are probably familiar with the names of a few saints — they are an integral part of Western art and cultural history after all. There are St. Christopher medals for nervous travellers, St. Francis bird baths for the garden, St. Joseph statues for burying upside down in the back yard if you can’t sell your house, an endless array of colleges, hospitals and towns named for various saints, and anyone who has bought vintage clothing at a thrift store is probably familiar with Vincent de Paul, the patron saint of charities. But is there a patron saint of fashion? I didn’t find anyone specific for the job, but there are many patrons who oversee various aspects of the fashion industry. St. Crispin is the patron saint of shoemakers, although his sainthood has been downgraded like many saints whose good works and posthumous miracles were not properly documented during the Middle Ages. For making shoes you need leather for which there are two patron saints, St.

Bartholomew and St. Simon Zelotes who both work on the behalf of tanners; similarily, St. Bonifice and St. Matthias are both patron saints of tailors. For goldsmiths and jewellers there is St. Eligius, and for dyers and needle makers, Helena is the patron (or is that matron?) saint. St. Blase is the patron saint of carders (wool combers), and both St. James the Lesser and St. Clement of Ireland work as patron saints of both wool fullers and hatters. Saint Barbara is also a part time patron of hatters, but as she is primarily devoted to the military, her hat job is more of a sideline. Saint Severus is probably the best candidate for becoming the patron saint of the fashion industry as he is already the patron saint of drapers, hatters, milliners, silk workers, weavers, and wool manufacturers. However, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of lace makers and spinsters has been honoured by the fashion and millinery industry. On St.

Catherine’s feast day on November 25, ‘midinettes’ (unmarried seamstresses at the grand couture maisons) would don hats of yellow and green (representing faith and wisdom), and make a pilgrimage to a statue of St. Catherine to ask for help in finding a husband so they don’t have to wear ‘St. Catherine’s Bonnet’ (become an old maid.) French milliners began holding parades of fantastic novelty hat creations and by the 1930s the parades had become Old Maid’s Day celebrations with a big party at night where you might meet a husband (probably not yours) to dance the night away… About Jonathan Jonathan Walford is a fashion historian and co-founder of the Fashion History Museum in Cambridge, Ontario. The FHM maintains a collection of nearly 12,000 artifacts dating from the mid 17th century to the present. Jonathan has authored various books and museum catalogues, including The Seductive Shoe, Shoes A-Z, Forties Fashion, 1950s American Fashion, and Sixties Fashion.

The Cordwainers Guilds Site created June 2000 While the masters hired others to actually make the shoes, they also set up a system of training. A young person would apprentice to a master to learn the trade. Even in the earliest times apprentices were found working for the individual shoemakers. After the apprentice period, usually seven years, had ended the apprentice would become a journeyman. This didn't mean they traveled, although some of them probably did. It meant that journeymen worked for various masters. It was at this time that guilds began to form. The guilds set standards for the trade. They also determined who would become masters. Of course, the masters had the most control in the operation of the guilds. In this way, they could protect their portion of the market by preventing the creation of new masters. (6) The following quote is from the Twin Groves Jr. Highschool District 96, Illinois, website. Unfortunately, the site no longer exists. "As time went on however, there was a natural inclination on the part of the masters who were the members of the guild to keep their numbers down, have more workmen under them, and thus increase their profits and keep the competition down.

This resulted in apprentices having to work for a certain number of years past their initial training period as a journeyman or hire day laborer. This allowed the masters to have fairly large shops in which apprentices and journeymen worked for them.The masters preferred to take on more apprentices rather than promote journeymen into master status in order to keep their numbers down and therefore secure their share of the available market. Eventually it became almost impossible to become a master unless you were the son of a master or married a master's daughter. This left the majority of men working in the craft without hope of rising beyond journeyman status. "Unfortunately, the journeymen were almost completely at the mercy of the masters who ran the guild. The guild did guarantee every journeyman work. In Paris the journeymen of a guild gathered each morning at a certain place where the masters came and chose the men they wanted. If any journeymen were left over, the guild officers assigned them to masters. Through the guild, the masters set the journeyman's wages and regulated the hours and conditions of his work. In some towns, those journeymen brave enough, tried to form organizations of their own in order to fight the masters' rule.

However the masters always had the support of the town government and the journeymen were rarely successful." Although this has to do with a much earlier period than when my ancestors practiced the trade, guild practices probably hadn't changed much by the 19th century. What strikes us about this is that "journeyman" didn't necessarily mean that men traveled extensively - it meant that they were employed in various places, by various Master craftsmen. They could have remained in the same general area, and still have been "journeymen". Given the description of guilds and their members noted above and since both Henry and James gave their status as "journeymen" means that they probably were not in a guild - and that they needed a Master to get work. We haven't come up with much on Shoemakers' (or Cordwainers, as they were called) Guilds in Northern Ireland yet. It will be necessary to know where James and Henry began their careers to find out what masters and therefore what Guild they might have been associated with. My son did find an interesting image, however, of the coat of arms for the Shoemakers' Guild in Angus, Scotland: Arms of the Montrose Shoemakers Guild.

It's rather impressive, and suggests that the old Cordwainers were very well thought of, and pretty important too. It is a painting by Scottish artist Robert Munro . Sts. Crispin and Crispinian Of course, every profession has its patron saints. The medical profession has Maimonides. The cordwainers have St. Crispin and St. Crisinian. These brothers are said to have been sons of a minor Roman official. They converted to Christianity, left their ancestral home and began to preach and convert others. They settled in Gaul, present day France, in a town called Soissons. To support themselves they apprenticed to a shoemaker and soon became experts at the trade. They would preach during the day and make shoes for the poor at night. This was during the reign of Emperor Maximian. The brothers were brought before a local Roman official, Rictiovarus, who tried to get them to forsake Christianity and return to worshipping the Roman gods. Failing to re-convert them by torture, Rictiovarus committed suicide because he could not kill them. At this point Maximian had them beheaded.

(7) Their deaths supposedly occurred on October 25th in the year 286 or 287. Crispin and Crispinian became the patron saints of shoemakers, saddlers and tanners. The anniversary of their martyrdom, St. Crispin's Day, was an important day in history. The battle of Agincourt, where the outnumbered English army defeated the French, occurred on St. Crispin's Day. This battle was immortalized by William Shakespeare in his play Henry V. (8) Footnotes

Question: Name one of the French twin saints who are the patron saints of shoemakers.
Answer: St Crispin